Croner Reviews 

I can’t recommend Iwan Hulks highly enough. From the very beginning, he approached my professional court case with clarity, confidence, and a calm, steady attitude that immediately put me at ease during a very stressful time. He explained every step of the process in clear, practical terms, gave honest advice, and made sure I understood my options before moving forward.

Thanks to Iwan Hulks dedication, preparation, and excellent representation, he achieved a successful outcome. If you want someone who combines legal skill with clear communication and genuine professionalism, Iwan is the person to trust.

UPDATE – CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

Following my original review, this matter was escalated to Croner's Directors Office and I feel it is only fair to provide an update.

Whilst our initial experience was frustrating and the process took considerably longer than we felt it should have, the matter was ultimately reviewed in detail by Felecia Wood within the Directors Office. She took the time to understand our circumstances as a small independent hospitality business and worked constructively with us to find a practical resolution.

Although we did not agree on every aspect of the dispute, we were ultimately able to reach a compromise that both parties could accept.

I would particularly like to thank Felecia for her professionalism, patience and willingness to engage throughout the process. Her efforts helped bring a very difficult situation to a constructive conclusion.

For transparency, I have left my original comments below as they reflected my genuine experience at the time. However, I also believe it is important to acknowledge when a company takes the time to listen, review a case properly and work towards a reasonable outcome.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
We entered into a 5-year agreement with Croner when our business operated with around 10 staff members in February 2025. Due to the current economic climate and significant changes within the business, we have since reduced to a one-person FTE micro business and attempted to work constructively with Croner to find a proportionate and commercially sustainable solution.

To be fair, staff remained polite throughout and eventually offered a reduced monthly rate and lower-level service. However, this was only available if we agreed to enter into a completely new 5-year contractual commitment, despite already having completed approximately 18 months under the existing agreement.

Our concern has never simply been about avoiding payment. We repeatedly tried to negotiate in good faith, proposed compromises, continued communication throughout, and even offered to continue making payments at the revised level whilst the matter remained under review.

What we found most disappointing was the escalation and complaints process. Despite repeated requests for escalation, communication remained filtered through the engagement team and the process felt unclear and difficult to access. It was only after significant pressure that we were provided with the name of the senior manager reviewing the case.

For small businesses facing genuine hardship or major operational change, flexibility and proportionality matter. Croner have a Treating Customers Fairly Policy which I don't think they have read. Unfortunately, our experience left us feeling that the process was heavily weighted towards retaining long-term contractual commitment rather than finding a genuinely fair resolution.
UPDATE: This matter has now been formally escalated to the Directors Office.

Katherina was lovely, very good at going through each area and explaining what is needed
Very competent at her job
Great asset for your company

We recently contracted with Croner for food safety and HACCP consultancy services. During the initial discussions, we were assured that they had a highly professional team capable of delivering everything within our very tight operational schedule. Unfortunately, our experience was extremely disappointing from the very beginning.

After signing the contract, the first on-site consultancy visit was scheduled well beyond the agreed timeframe, which immediately raised concerns regarding their reliability and understanding of urgent business needs. Despite this delay, we proceeded with the food safety audit, expecting professional guidance. However, the consultant informed us that our production layout was completely acceptable. Later, during the council’s inspection and survey, we discovered that numerous critical changes were actually required. This resulted in significant unexpected costs, major delays, and prevented us from starting production on time.

What was equally concerning was the poor internal communication within the company. The food safety consultant appeared completely unaware that the HACCP documentation had still not been provided by her colleague. This created an embarrassing situation even for their own staff and demonstrated a serious lack of coordination and professionalism.

Another issue was their preference for video consultations instead of proper on-site visits, which in our opinion is entirely inadequate for detailed food safety and operational assessments.

Now that we have requested cancellation of the agreement due to the poor service received, we have been informed that we are still expected to pay the remaining balance of a long-term contract. We signed with them less than two months ago, yet they are demanding payment obligations extending for the next five years.

As Operations Manager of Meatsland Ltd, I would strongly advise other business owners to exercise caution before engaging with this company. Our experience has been costly, time-consuming, and highly frustrating, with very little value delivered in return.

This is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with as a business owner.

Communication is practically non-existent, and the sales representatives completely misrepresented the package when selling it to us. We were persuaded to leave a contract with their sister company on the promise that they would provide a far better service, but instead we were left stranded with little to no support.

To make matters worse, we were overcharged twice in January. Despite numerous phone calls and emails requesting an explanation and resolution, the issue still remains unresolved to this day.

We also formally emailed them on 29th April to terminate the contract, and not even a simple acknowledgement of receipt has been received. That level of disregard for clients is completely unacceptable.

The lack of professionalism, accountability, and basic customer service is shocking. They do not know how to communicate with or treat their clients properly. I genuinely do not understand how a company operating at this level is still in business.

I would strongly advise other businesses to think very carefully before signing any agreement with them.

Gemma Hunter was super professional, helpful, responsive and efficient in handling our recent documentation review.

She answered my queries, reviewed our documents thoroughly and very efficiently followed through to do everything she said she would in a timely manner.

Very helpful support to set up everything related to HSE in the company. The advices and insights from the consultants Alan MacFarlane and Harry Mackinnon were invaluable!

Kenny was very helpful throughout the process, explained things well and was very approachable.
Thanks Kenny!

Steve Oyebola carried out our H&S inspection. He was very patient, ensuring I fully understood all the due diligence we still need to meet; making helpful suggestions to improve the overall H&S in our workplace and ensuring employees are aware and understand various risk assessments and regularly undergo relevant training and E-Learning. Thank you Steve!

After promising solutions and using selling tactics along the lines of 'you need us to be compliant or you will likely face legal action', they renewed our contract and gave us a set end date in the email, only to now be telling us that that it in fact auto renewals which was not mentioned.

Steve was nice, polite and thorough with his H&S assessment. I felt comfortable discussing this with him, and he made it easy to understand. It was a great session, and that's because of Steve

Croner provided a clear, structured and professional compliance review during their recent visit. Matt Hallam (Assessor) demonstrated strong subject‑matter expertise and communicated findings in a way that was both practical and easy to action. Their approach was supportive rather than punitive, focusing on helping the organisation understand requirements and adopt best practice.

The review process was thorough and aligned with recognised health and safety standards. Matt took time to explain observations, provide rationale, and offer proportionate advice tailored to the operational context. This ensured the visit added real value rather than simply identifying gaps.

Overall, Croner’s involvement contributed positively to strengthening our compliance position, improving awareness of legal duties, and reinforcing a proactive safety culture.

We had a meeting with Gemma Hunter to discuss any changes needed within our company, handbooks, contracts and policy's. Gemma was able to answer all question's we had and all relevant changes amended and sent back over to us the same day. I would highly recommend Gemma.

I had a consultation with Gemma for our annual handbook review. She was very helpful and shared all the new helpful updates.

Eve-Marie gave a really great level of service when I called to make an appointment for a document review.

I’d like to commend Steve Oyebola for his recent visit to carry out our health and safety audit. As always, Steve was professional, approachable, and extremely knowledgeable in his field. He conducted the audit in a thorough yet efficient manner, ensuring minimal disruption to our day-to-day operations while still maintaining a high level of scrutiny.

What really stands out is his ability to communicate clearly and practically. Rather than just identifying issues, Steve took the time to explain his findings in a way that was easy to understand and provided sensible, actionable recommendations that we can implement straight away. His supportive approach makes a real difference, turning what could be a daunting process into a constructive and positive experience.

Steve consistently demonstrates a strong understanding of our business and the challenges we face, and he tailors his advice accordingly. His attention to detail, combined with his pragmatic mindset, gives us confidence that we are maintaining compliance while continuously improving our standards.

Overall, another excellent audit experience—efficient, insightful, and genuinely helpful. I would highly recommend Steve to any organisation looking for a reliable and knowledgeable health and safety consultant.

Professional, to the point, accurate. at the same time detailed and well explained.

She took her time to put me through everything I had no knowledge of.

Ellie Pidcock was very helpful in reviewing our documents. The whole process went well and would highly recommend.

Ian Wishart conducted our Health and Safety visit today. He was friendly and made us feel at ease. Good knowledge of the Bright Safe system, informing us of new training and forms. Prompt at getting back to us to answer question and give advice after the meeting.